I'm still here!

I have lots of lovely things to share with you but blogger won't let me...I'll try again when I get home tonight xx

My Creative Space...

Working on some new bits and pieces at the moment...watch this space! For my creative spaces I heartily endorse you go here

Things I like today

I'm loving Jane Resiger's spotlight on Yarraville here in Melbourne, via Design Sponge




Felt flowers hair clips by Lupin! I'm actually making some of these to wear to a wedding on the weekend-once I decide which of two different coloured dresses to wear!




If paper cups weren't evil, I would want them to look like this. Actually could we make ceramic cups to look like these paper cups?

I thought this was pretty funny...

What I've Been Up To...

I was honoured to attend the viewing the Red Quilt Project. The quilt is just simply stunning!






I am totally honoured to be part of it and it was a wonderful opportunity to meet some amazing crafty people at the gorgeous Abbotsford Convent.


Chris and I have been quite busy with Green Renters, with an article in the current edition of Frankie Magazine and chairing a workshop yesterday at the Green Deal Conference.

I've send off a consignment order of coasters, cassette wallets and comic wallets to the awesome Reverse Garbage in Marrickville Sydney. Hopefully they are well received!

A couple of things I've bought recently from the V&A website:




Been a bit unwell but getting there....Next month I am participating in Animal Liberation's Vegan Easy Challenge. You can follow my progress on our Green Renter's blog.

I'm also looking forward to Northside Maker's and Thread Den markets nearing Christmas!

Stupid internet

I have loads of things to show you but blogger won't let me upload piccies etc for some reason at the moment.....

Support a Fantastic Cause

Softies for Mirabel is on again! It's an annual appeal organised by Meet Me At Mikes to benefit the kids supported by The Mirabel Foundation. The toys are gifted to the Mirabel kids as part of The Mirabel Foundation's Toy Drive. I made these ones a while ago :)

Things I like today

I'm totally going to make one of these necklaces!



How lovely is this room?



My experience with owning bunnies is that there's no way an icecream would stay long on their head, it would be eaten in seconds!



German flashcards. I bought these as I'm learning German!

Art in the city

The Melbourne International Arts Festival is on. Last night Chris and I went to see a couple of exhibitions:


Blindside was about turning an artists working space high up in the Nicholas Building into a into a useable living room, a ‘total work of art’. We loved this bed surrounded by speakers and also the big dome tent in the middle of the room which was filled with dirt and planted succulents. You should definitely check it out!

It was really stormy weather as you can see from the view from the window:



We then went to see Kat Mcleod's amazing work at Lamington Drive. So much talent (and most works were already sold when we got there!)
Here's one of her prints:

Chris and I were filmed last weekend in our 'creative spaces'. You can view the photographs at Fed Square this weekend as part of The Living Room exhibition.

Things I like today

I want to be sitting in this room with this bag.



I'm a sucker for art deco prints like this one...



I'm actually rather scared of Ikea. All those people and children everywhere and signs and paths directing you around the store.... I might have to make a quick dash for these glasses. Just had a look on the site, they don't seem to be stocking them in Australia. Argh....

Admiration for others...

It's probably obvious that I greatly admire that talents of many creative people.

But that admiration extends beyond people's creative abilities. I've been following the work of Cate Bolt for some time and her Project 18 and wanted to share a bit about what she is aiming to achieve in Indonesia.

Briefly, Cate is aiming to build an orphanage and wildlife refuge in Indonesia. Here's some of the amazing goals she and her team are developing (I'm quoting from her website):

Our program has three different levels:

Orphange/Village – The plan is to establish an orphanage on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. When complete the village will consist of 18 x 3 bedroom homes, each housing up to 8 children and a house mother. The system is based on effective plans in Africa, where the children are raised in a loving family environment, rather than in huge dormitories with 40+ children to a room. An investigation into the conditions in Indonesian orphanages in 2007 showed that most “childcare institutions” in Indo did not consider the emotional wellbeing of the children to be the responsibility of the institution. The first stage of the orphanage will consist of 4 cabins, increasing to 10 and then 18 over 5 years. The village will also include a school, community centre including a medical centre, and a staff residence. The orphanage will be built using sustainable methods using the principals of solar passive design. The entire village will also be solar powered with rain water collection. We hope to be able to employ local people for the construction and offer long term employment to some of those men for building maintenance and village expansion over the coming years. It is our hope that we will be able to place the first children at the village in early 2011.

Outreach Program – Given the number of children who end up in these institutions due to their families desperation for them to have a better life, we plan to run an outreach program which means approaching smaller villages with less prospects, liaising with the community and through consultation with their local authorities building them a school, we would then provide schooling for the village children, and one meal per day. We believe this would eradicate the need for the families in these villages to abandon their children, and lessen the burden on the already overflowing orphanages. We would also be able to offer medical assistance to those in need through the orphanage medical centre.

Wildlife Refuge & Reforestation program – I’m sure you’re aware of the dire situation in Indonesia at this given time due to the deforestation of the native habit for the local wildlife. This has seen the rapid decline in species such as the Sumatran Tiger and the Orang-utan over recent years. Our program intends to include a conservation program, whereby each child who schools with us will have wildlife conservation as a key learning outcome, and the children will be able to participate in a refuge program for displaced animals. We hope that by getting these children up-close and personal with this amazing wildlife, and instilling an understanding or the importance of wildlife conservation they will be more inclined to carry that with them into their future lives. In the short term, we would envisage providing refuge primarly for orphaned & injured orang-utans, possibly extending to include other animals in future. Eventually we would like to be able to buy up some of the land which has been destroyed by palm oil plantations, and commence a reforestation program to expand the corridors of native habitat that are remaining.

We will be negotiating with existing programs to offer a support role to them using our land and resources, as this is not our area of expertise and we will need direction from those established.

Find out more here about how you can contribute time, skills, money, materials to support such an exciting initiative!

Things I like Today

I'm a huge fan of Jen Corace's work




Have you ever seen a more cheerful skull than this one by Day Of The Head? Hilarious!


Imagine having this Emma Bridgewater cooker in your home! Oh boy!


I love this pic from the 1920's of ladies having a picnic. I wonder if they bought along a gin filled hip flask?

Things i like today

I've been working on a couple of big projects with recycled china (but haven't had enough time to finish them!). In the meantime, here's some wonderful inspirations...





Recycled lamp based with tutorial by Country Living


Pendants made from old china by MeOldChina on Etsy (her shop is closed at the mo as she's on hols)


Upcycled clock by Stylish Life


And of course I'm a huge Trixie Delicious fan!

Crafty searching....

I try and use recycled goods in my crafting where ever I can and wherever practical. Unfortunately this can mean spending a lot of time searching for goods instead of crafting, scouring charity shops in particular at lunchtimes and on weekends.

Things I am always on the look out for:

Coloured cassettes

Pic by the bottomless pool


Old Street Directories


Colourful china cups and saucers

pic from here

Old Tapestries (unframed)

Plain china teapots

Cork backed coasters

Do you have things you are always looking for? Perhaps we can keep an eye out and look for each other?

My new dress!

Purchased on Ebay for $36!

I don't clothing very often as I find it all rather exhausting and often I have a good idea of what I want but can't find it.

I might wear this to a wedding at the end of the month, paired with red cardi, red fish nets, red t bar mary janes and one of my handmade red orange and yellow hair pieces.

If the weather is really miserable, I have a lovely vintage dress I bought in Brooklyn, NY.

Etsy...

To be honest I don't make alot of effort with Etsy. It's just so big and unwieldy and there are so many shops! I mostly concentrate on my online shop and consignments, which take up so much time already ( besides my full time day job of course) :)


I was pleased to find my bicycle gloves featured on the front page

Here they are a bit clearer.




Interestingly it didn't result in any sales...

I've finally found a glove stockist who is not based in China. Stayed tuned for more info....

Things I like today

Stunning Esen Demirci feature wall wall paper via Apartment Therapy


Handmade chairs from upcycled products by Foto. These would be wonderful to make out of old wood and crocheted blankets.



How wonderful is this necklace by TheBlack Spot Books? What a great way to use old doll house ephemera!


3CR’s 5th Seeds Of Dissent Calendar looks ahead to imagine a future we want to live in, while also celebrating Australia’s radical history. Available soon! One of my mates Rayna has the most wonderful page of her work in it. She also have an exhibition on at moment. You should go!

Buy some cool art for an important cause

You can find out more about Aislinn and her history with cancer at her blog:
theyoungandthebreastless.com.au

Scroll through the images for a selection of artworks for auction, there will be many more available on the night. Over 80 artists have generously donated their art and this website features just some of the work. We are taking bids on these works until midnight Monday, 5 October 2009. The highest online bid for each work will be the reserve price at the silent auction on Tuesday, 6 October 2009

My creative space....

It seems to spread depending what I'm working on, but I try to keep things somewhat compartmentalized....

Current crafting:
7 coaster sets
15 cassette wallets
6 pairs of embroidery gloves
20 comic wallets

and, possibly something for the Sydney Road window art exhibition....

Come tell us about yours here